Gagné keeps Winnipeg’s podium in his ‘cross-hairs

After mostly destroying the competition in the mountain bike scene, Quebec’s Raphaël Gagné isn’t hanging up his helmet for the season just yet. With Winnipeg around the corner, cyclocross is the big climb he currently has in his sights.

Like other climbs, it’s one he stands a good chance of leaving dazed and conquered in his dust.

The Quebec rider has found a workable way to blend his cross-country prowess with cyclocross ambitions, and he’s eager to roll it out. The 28-year-old rider, as a member of the new Red Truck-Garneau p/b Easton Cyclocross Team — an idea that B.C.’s Mical Dyck also courted before embarking on her current privateer’s arc — will race a short competitive calendar, his skill in the saddle forming an integral part of Canada’s first professional cyclocross outfit.

That calendar, however short, is a sweet one. It encompasses five weekends, beginning Oct. 24 with the Canadian cyclocross championships in Quebec, which will see his return to the gilded ‘cross competition after a four-year absence from its ranks. After summitting the last season in terms of mountain bike and cross-country competition — a victory at USA Cycling’s US Pro Cup series, in particular, followed up by July gold medals at the Pan Am Games — he was already well-positioned enough. Sixth-place finishes in Windham, followed by a best male North American win at the mountain bike world championships, only sharpened what was already an impressive suite of achievements.

But with his improved power in the saddle and a similarly emboldened mental fortitude as a competitor — a benefit, no doubt, following health issues that affected his season earlier in the year — that can only improve his already iron-clad chances in Winnipeg as a cyclocross rider.

Got the win at Qc cup in Baie-St-Paul yesterday between 2 #svenness spy's. Back at it this Pm at 3. pic.twitter.com/i54ZutbhAG

— Raphael Gagné (@raphaelgagne) October 18, 2015

Though the Olympics and his own demonstrated prowess in cross-country have entrenched him as a top-tier Canadian mountain biker, Gagné holds a special place in his heart for the challenges — the very unique challenges, for sure — of cyclocross. One would be hard-pressed to draw a line between the appeal of either discipline for the young cyclist. “This is how much I think ‘cross is good for me and how much I love it,” he said. “Two years ago, I didn’t have any support and only one bike, and I raced almost a whole season out of my pocket.” Up against the wall at the time, due to a conflict with other priorities, he nearly backed out of ‘cross competition altogether. Ever confident in his own stature as a Canadian rider, though, he felt that the shouldering of such an individual burden — especially at his level — wasn’t something he should be doing.

“I was tempted to buy a bike and just race,” he said, looking back. “But at the level I’m at, I don’t think I deserve to biy a bike and race out of my own budget.”

Flash-forward to today. After finishing in Gloucester, Mass with a top ten result — something he launched into after starting from the rear of the field — the Quebec City cyclist followed it up with an eighth-place finish in Providence, with another stop in Massachusetts before the Winnipeg nationals next weekend. When he arrives for that competition, it will be alongside teammates like Michael van den Ham and Craig Richey — powerful, top-tier support if ever it existed. A win in Manitoba will mean great things for Gagné, but he’s keeping his head level with a healthy dose of temperance before racing begins.

The podium, though, remains ever in his ‘cross-hairs.

“I’m always thinking about the win,” he said, “but I think wishing for the podium is realistic and it’s just a good goal for me. I don’t want to put too much pressure [on myself] for ‘cross.”